M:tG one shots
by ecurps
Summary: I happen upon prompts on tumblr from time to time that I need to get down. if anyone is interested drop me a line. I'll at least consider it. and of course comments are always appreciated. WARNING: the stories will contain some coarse language and some may have violence.
1. Chandra Nissa and Liliana

In her mind, she always thought of herself as a big flame. With the heat she exuded it didn't come as a surprise; but during her meditation sessions with Nissa, Chandra had learned to rein in her flame. Listening to the elf's gentle voice, Chandra saw her blazing fire lessen into a smaller torch as she was drawn through the earth around them. The deeper they went, the smaller her flame became until it was only a soft, flickering candle. Guiding her down, at the heart of - Chandra could only call it "nature" or "plants" - she could feel the pulse. Nissa. The little seed she imagined Nissa would be during these sessions, mana resonating with the same gentle pulse as her voice.

Then there was the throbbing ache again.

Snapped immediately out of the meditation, Chandra cursed. "Sorry, sitting like this puts a lot of stress on my body." Chandra stretched out her legs and twisted to get the kinks out of her back.

"It gets easier the more you practice," Nissa said calmly. It wasn't the first time she had interrupted their meditation.

"You keep saying that, but I really doubt it," Chandra said with a groan, her knees popping as she flexed the cramps from her legs. They sat in silence for a moment when Chandra perked up. "I've got an idea."

Shifting around, Chandra stretched out and lay down in front of Nissa, her head resting on the elf's slender legs.

"Th-this is counter productive," Nissa stated hesitantly, still uncomfortable with being touched.

"It'll work," Chandra said with a grin, hands clasped on her stomach. "Trust me."

Still rather flustered, Nissa acquiesced. Once more, she guided Chandra in meditation. Chandra's flame shrank much quicker than usual to the little candle. Nissa fully expected the little flame to snuff right out, indicating Chandra had fallen asleep. Surprisingly enough Chandra kept with it, following her every word, falling deeper into the nature around them, until Chandra's candle was with Nissa's kernel.

Again, Nissa was reminded of a sun, lessened though it may be, and allowed herself to bask in its radiating warmth just as Chandra reveled in the calming pulses from Nissa.

An offhand thought crossed Nissa's mind: this is the closest and longest she had been in another "person's" presence and been at peace, besides Emmara and the acolytes of the Selesnya Commune.

Seconds, minutes, it could have even been days that the two women relaxed there, when an aristocratic voice and the strong scent of death cut through the veil of the garden.

"I thought you might be up here," Liliana said from the doorway.

Chandra bolted upright with a curse. She was slightly flushed, and so was Nissa. Intriguing.

"Nissa's been helping me relax and calm down," Chandra recovered quickly, stretching again. "Trying to get away from just lighting things on fire right off the bat."

"Hm, smart," a part of Liliana's mind thought about what else the two women might be doing in their free time. "Why don't I show you one of the ways I relax." Chandra gave her a dubious look. "It has nothing to do with raising the dead."

"Sure," Chandra replied, standing and brushing bits of leaves and grass from her loose clothing. "Which would be?"

A slight smile curled Liliana's lips, "A little shopping."

The dubious look returned to Chandra's face. "If you say so."

Liliana looked past the pyromancer to the elf. "You're welcome to join us."

"I'll have to decline," Nissa replied. After a moment, she added "Thank you for offering."

Chandra was as bored as expected. Despite the little contraptions available, none of them held enough bang – both literal and figurative – to hold her interest. Serene as always, Liliana guided Chandra from shop to shop, musing over dresses, blouses, fabrics, jewels, shoes. Sequins or no; gem-studded or silk and lace; common or ensorcelled. One pair of boots stood out to Chandra and she made a disparaging, pained face when she asked, "You're not going to make me wear _these,_ are you?" They were blue stiletto boots, the heels a good five inches long, the laces and clasps fashioned into clouds so one might seem to walk with a piece of the sky.

"You insult me, dear, to think that I lack the experience to know what would be suitable attire," Liliana intoned as she picked through a rack of blouses. "Before coming into my own, I had to learn the intricacies of many castes and how to dress for each occasion. And I learned even more afterwards."

With a dismissive look, she stepped away from the blouse rack and began inspecting a series dresses. "The key is to understand form, color, and identity; ah, finally." Liliana pulled a long, crimson one-piece dress from the rack. "With a slight alteration or two this would look lovely on you," she said holding it up to Chandra. Under the necromancer's frosty, intelligent stare Chandra straightened her posture.

Satisfied, Liliana let go of the dress, which Chandra caught in a rush. "It's also backless, in case you ever decide to grow your hair out."

She looked at the tag as Liliana moved on. "Wha-I, There's no way I can pay for this!" Chandra sputtered, receiving a patient, wry look in return.

"Don't you think I would have made some investments over the years? How do you think I kept up the lifestyle I so dearly maintain?"

"I thought you just strong-armed people into giving you what you wanted."

That elicited a tinkling laugh. "Yes, Chandra, on occasion I've used my power for comfort. I've also used guile, and trickery, and anything else at my disposal to get what I desire. Ah, these should do," Liliana picked up a pair of dress shoes with no heels. The daffodil yellow complimented the vibrant red of the dress.

After their purchase, Chandra stared into the bag, which held a compact of makeup and other trinkets. "Why are you doing this? Buying me the dress and shoes and stuff?"

Liliana affected an expression of mild surprise. "Why, didn't Jace tell you? He's taking you to a party."

"What the hell is your deal?!" Chandra had tore back to Jace's house to confront him, hair just shy of bursting to flames as the radiating heat caused distortions and a slight breeze.

Jace stared with tired eyes, first at Chandra, then back at Liliana, leaning against the table, that subtle smile of hers that evokes the cat that ate the canary. Damn it, she was going to be the death of him someday. Probably her intention, too.

"The party is still a couple weeks away," Jace sighed, rubbing his overworked eyes. "It's at the Izzet College-"

"And you thought you'd just drag me along-"

"-And it's Guildpact business." Jace interrupted.

"Then take one of your cronies!" Chandra growled.

Jace sighed again. "It is a Red and Blue mage party. None of my "cronies" as you so delicately put it, are fit to join me among those... scientists," the last word was steeped with sarcasm.

"You are the only Red mage I have at my disposal," Jace cut in before Chandra could shout any more, "that I trust can hold your own among the people attending. You also happen to be a Planeswalker of the Gatewatch , so in the off chance you overhear any information sensitive to our mission, I can guarantee you'll keep your mouth shut until we can discuss it away from the regular citizens."

Chandra still stood there, smoldering glare beating down on him. "I fully intended on asking you later on. It seems there are some secrets I have difficulty keeping under wraps," Jace glared at Liliana.

"I'll make sure our young Chandra is presentable for your party," she announced benignly.

"How charitable of you," Jace replied flatly.


	2. Jace is a badass?

Dammit, where the hell is that nerd? Chandra's thoughts swirled and pounded in time with her racing heart and thudding boots as she ran through the undercity tunnels of Ravnica. Flaming hair illuminating the tunnel, revealing crusting sludge and determined mushrooms and creepy crawlies. Gideon would be welcome company, too, but that muscle-head had run off into this maze before she showed up.

Gideon's and Jace's contacts finally scrounged up reliable information on Vraska's whereabouts and they had taken off as quick as they could. Giving Lavinia the slip had been much more a challenge than they expected.

Down in Golgari territory one had to be wary of... things. Chandra had already needed to scorch a couple aggressive plants and undead – the first with a twinge of remorse, considering how close her and Nissa had become since Kaladesh.

It took her some time to reach an actual junction, the tunnel only opening up to large, disused reservoirs filled with refuse and rubble. Using the intersection to catch her breath, Chandra listened hard down each of the tunnels, hoping to catch something, any sound really, that would help point her in the right direction. Under the crackle of her hair, she heard the faint clink of metal. That worked for her!

Jace had suggested following their own leads separately, leaving Gideon to tromp through the undercity "gardens" by himself. With his known association with the Boros Legion, he was thankfully left alone, giving him free reign to puzzle out the directions uninterrupted. Up ahead Gideon saw the ruins of a building that he was told would take him straight down to the heart of the gorgon's headquarters. He hadn't expected the need to climb down the hard way. The inside was in shambles, as if a wurm had smashed through it, leaving him with a near vertical fall and small juts of floor as his only way down. As quickly as he dared, Gideon scrabbled from floor piece to floor piece, sending chunks of masonry down into the inky depths. He prayed whatever might hear him wasn't large enough to just run him over. He couldn't afford the delay.

The rumble and vibrations of an explosion made its way to him through the stone. If that was who he thought it was, how did she manage to get down here before him? Thoughts for another time. With some effort Gideon spider-crawled his way closer to the sound, finding a small opening hidden in the shadows; he noticed the passage quickly went from rubble to arcade and followed it to a T-junction. The faint rosy color of fire made his choice easy. Around two more bends revealed an auditorium, a ghastly parody of an Azorius courtroom. As expected, Gideon saw Chandra fending of a dark assailant, though her flame seemed superfluous, as her attacker merely dashed through the flames.

"Why! Won't! You! Burn?!" Chandra growled as she lobbed ball after ball of fire at the would-be assassin. In the small, still thinking bit at the back of her mind, she knew the fire wasn't effective, though that didn't mean she couldn't win still. Burn away enough air and you stymie a person's progress. Unfortunately the attacker was getting too close. Between blasts of fire, she'd had to deflect a wicked looking blade, carefully blocking with parts that were protected by her furnace-plating armor. In the residual light of one such blast, a glint of metal in the distance caught her eye. Her concern of another assailant turned to relief when a stone cracked into the floor between them and Gideon's sural flashed to the ready. Together they fended off the assassin, Gideon's golden aura joining Chandra's red flame.

Their reprieve was short lived when a second dark-clad figure stepped out from the shadows. Adjusting their balance, Gideon and Chandra were ready for round two, when a guttural exclamation sounded behind them. A half turn revealed a third assailant, a blue-sleeved arm around their throat, another wicked blade in a twitching grasp before falling to the floor with a clatter. The body dropped in death and Jace stood instead, an esoteric dagger in hand, the blade faintly obscured in shadow.

"Thank you for luring them out," Jace said calmly as he approached his fellow Gatewatch, removing his cloak in the process. "I'll take them from here," he said, handing the cloak to Gideon. "This will require a bit of finesse." Chandra, for once at a loss for words, stood in incredulous surprise.

It was a marvel how muscle memory worked. How long had it been since he had needed to wield a blade? Though lacking in exercise, Lavinia did good in keeping his diet in check. He should probably thank her at some point. A sweeping feint followed by a lunge was parried, rather sloppily he noted, as he backed away to meet the second assassin. A half-step and twist spun him out of harms way, ready to deflect another stab from the first attacker.

Between the pendulum of attack and defense, the spinning footwork to keep ahead of his opponents, the constant demand to calculate and execute the appropriate motion to either defend or evade, Jace found himself excited. He understood it was the adrenaline acting upon his mind in the midst of a life-or-death situation, but that did nothing to dampen the rush he felt. He considered taking Gideon up on sparring practice, but deep down knew that would never come about; Guildpact work was an all-consuming beast.

Understanding of the assassin's combat style coalesced and Jace determined it was time to go on the offensive. He knew his magic wouldn't work on them directly, but obfuscating the mind wasn't the only trick he knew. Casting a two-part spell, Jace shrouded himself while simultaneously sending off an illusory copy to distract. Not surprisingly the assassin was quick enough to find the illusion and redirect their blade against his own. Undaunted, Jace kept up his assault, projecting an attack one way while thrusting or sweeping another; scoring a half dozen or more small wounds upon each assassin. Finally one of them overcompensated, driving their dagger straight for Jace's heart. The satisfying resistance then release of the blade piercing flesh brought a grunt of satisfaction until the assassin realized the dagger was embedded in the stomach of their cohort. Wide eyes stared back in surprise and pain. Confusion peaked until a burning line was dragged across the killer's throat. Looking down to see blood flow down the front of the assassin's garb, the floor rushed up to meet them, but darkness caught them instead.

Jace knelt before the third assassin, knowing there were only a few short moments before the dagger's effect would set in.

"Tell me where Vraska is."

The assassin huffed a airless laugh. "The Mistress has a lovely spot waiting for you in her collection." Death came for the killer before the last word ended.

Irritated, Jace cleaned his dagger off and sheathed it. Turning to his companions, Chandra exclaimed "Where the hell did that come from?"

Affecting her with his usual perturbed stare, "I _was_ the leader of the Infinite Consortium here on Ravnica for some time. Before that... I was Tezzeret's protege. He was a demanding instructor." Pain tinted his words.

Gideon beamed down at Jace with a large, proud smile while he handed the mind mage his cloak. Donning his trademark blue cloak, Jace asked, "Now, shall we continue?"


	3. Trans Jace?

Chandra grumbled as she clomped up the staircase, her metal-clad boots against the stone steps sending a cacophony up and down the column. She didn't understand why _she_ had to go get Jace. Gideon could have done it just as easily. Liliana... eh, yea, she probably would have given her a dirty look if Chandra had told her to go get him herself. Besides, aside from Jace, Liliana was least likely to embarrass themselves. Gids was great and all, but he could be a little too... friendly? Jace would have had a better word.

Jace's bedroom door was just as basically adorned as the rest of his place.

"Jace!" Chandra pounded on the door with her fist. "We got a job! Maybe! Someone's asking for our help!" Scant seconds passed before Chandra gave up and barged in. "Hey, you even in..." The scene awaiting her on the other side was far from what she expected.

A reedy figure stood before a tall mirror that reached from floor to ceiling; the person unmistakably female despite her thin figure. She stood nearly stark nude, save a pair of navy boxer-briefs. Chandra was taken aback until the woman turned to face her. The shock felt like her heart was about to leap out her throat.

"Do you have so little respect for others that you encroach on the simple privacy of a bedroom without a single thought?" Jace said, his voice so cold and sharp the room's temperature could have dropped a few degrees.

"I... You..," Chandra's mouth flapped like a beached fish. "You're a woman?!"

Jaw clenched, Jace fought his first, immediate urge: purge this moment from Chandra's mind and leave her outside his chambers with no recollection of the previous minute. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Close the door if you please."

It took a moment for Chandra to realize Jace wasn't going to wipe her mind. Hesitantly she closed the door behind her with a faint click.

Jace resumed looking at his body in the mirror. If it was indeed his body. No matter where he searched within his memories, what he found there and in the mirror were always in conflict. His angular face and androgynous figure fit together fairly well, but anyone familiar with him would find the combination mind-boggling. As Chandra was currently demonstrating.

The mirror's reflective surface showed Chandra standing against the far wall, face displaying confusion, her body language telegraphing discomfort.

"Ask your questions already."

To her credit, Chandra thought about her first question. "Have you always been a woman? Even back when we fought over the scroll?"

With a sigh, he confessed, "I don't know."

"What's that mean?"

He began touching his body at random points with gentle fingers; collar bone, ribs, arms, hips. "I literally don't know. Searching back through the memories I still have I've always been a man."

He could tell he already lost her.

"I don't remember my early life. No home. No parents. Whether through my own tampering or someone else's, my first concrete memory is here. Ravnica. Already setting out to find work. But every time I sift through my past I'm a man."

Chandra wasn't sure how to process what Jace was telling her. He had always just been, well, _Jace_. He looked like a guy every time they met, sounded like it, even. Through body language and the formfitting clothes he preferred, Jace had never displayed womanly attributes. Not that Chandra new much about femininity outside the necessities.

"Why not hire someone to change your body? There's gotta be some magic out there that does that, right?" She had a hard time getting the thought into words, the Jace in her mind still conflicting with what was right in front of her.

"I'm not completely sure," Jace did sound a bit confused. "I know it's feasible, but some part of myself is holding me back. Whether it's the desire to confront the one who did this to me, or some part of my mind I have yet to find and access staying my hand; I can't be certain."

"Is that why you've got all those belts?" Chandra haltingly snickered, trying to bring a bit of levity. "To keep you all wrapped up?"

Jace rolled his eyes. "Yes," he drawled.

An odd thought crossed Chandra's mind. "Does Liliana know?"

The dark look Jace gave her sent chills up her spine; eyes becoming hard, face becoming sharp, electric blue light faintly glowing from his eyes and planeswalker marks. "Yes," his voice gruff and angry.

Moments passed in silence as the conversation died between them.

"What did you come here for?" Jace asked, voice back under control.

"Oh, right! We've got someone asking for our help. Figured you should be there," Chandra replied, reminded of her original task.

Jace made a confirming noise. "Tell them I'll be there momentarily. Now, if you please, I'd rather get dressed alone."

Taking her cue, Chandra hopped from her perch against the wall and headed out the door.

Before she could close it, Jace spoke up, "Chandra. This stays between us."

"Uh, yea!" she said hesitantly.

"I'm... trusting you with this," he said slowly. "I would hate for my hand to be forced against you again."

Chandra was sure she saw his eyes glowing blue again, sending another shiver down her spine. Hastily, she jerked the door shut and hustled back to the library. She was halfway there when she began to ponder his threat. Was he referring to the last time they fought? Or had he altered her memories at some point in their shared past? Normally the mere thought would have sent her into a rage, but for some reason all she felt now was a faint sense of fear.

More than a few minutes had passed when Chandra finally burst back in to the library. Lavinia was serving their guest some coffee while Gideon tried to engage her in conversation. Liliana was sitting at the other head of the table, opposite where Jace normally sat. The opening door drew her attention to Chandra rushing in; a flustered, confused expression on her face. What happened to transpire in the time she had gone to fetch Jace? She considered inquiring as Chandra took her seat, when Jace entered himself, primp and polished as always when they entertained company. She filed her questions away for a later date.

Jace marched in, bindings set, giving him the slight physical illusion of mass, aided by his actual illusions. Outwardly he appeared no different than normal, every bit a man as he felt in his head. Taking his seat at the head of the table, Jace faced their guest.

"How might the Gatewatch assist you?"


End file.
